


Finding Rose

by terraxangel



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman and Robin (Comics), Deathstroke the Terminator (Comics), Red Robin (Comics), Teen Titans (Comics)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, All The Ships, Awkward Flirting, Character Study, Crime Fighting, DC Comics References, Dorks in Love, Drama, Eventual Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Family Drama, Flirting, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Inner Dialogue, Kissing, Kissing in the Rain, Love Triangles, Made For Each Other, Misunderstandings, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, POV Multiple, Past Abuse, Protectiveness, Rain, Romance, Rose is found quick don't worry, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Strained Relationships, Strong Female Characters, Teen Angst, Teen Crush, Tim Drake Has a Bad Time, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:55:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25795468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/terraxangel/pseuds/terraxangel
Summary: Alternate Universe set after their first encounter with Clock King.Tim goes to find Rose after she hears him talking S*it with Cassie.But nothing is ever easy with Rose Wilson.(No character hating. I love all the Teen Titans to death! Just trying to stay in character)
Relationships: Tim Drake & Rose Wilson, Tim Drake/Rose Wilson
Kudos: 8





	1. Rain Rain Go Away... Now

  
Had she overheard their conversation? Did someone say something again? Was it just her mood that drove her out?   
Rose.  
Rose was very unpredictable, at least she was to any “sane” person around her.   
And Tim Drake liked to think himself sane, even when he sometimes wasn’t.   
Even when he knew it was illogical to chase after someone who didn’t want to be found. Especially someone who knew how to hide.   
But here he was, the completely sane Timothy Drake, searching for a girl he let someone else convince him to give up on.   
He felt like a hypocrite, he felt shamed, and most of all he felt stupid.   
You don’t give up on others. That just wasn’t the way.   
Even if they have attitude problems, they were constant flirts, and unpopular among the team of... judgmental teenagers.   
Actually, the more he thought about it, the more guilt he felt spilling through himself.   
Why would he not just listen to himself?   
Why was he so easily persuaded by someone he knew hated the one-eyed girl in the first place?  
It wasn’t like she was the Joker, she was a butterfly killer compared to him.  
And Bruce never gave up on the Joker.  
So she definitely didn’t deserve to be isolated when trying to be a hero.  
Him and Dick had already known about the cracks in her shell. The trauma she went through. The pain she suffered with her father.  
All she wanted was love.  
And none of the team- aside from Eddie Bloomberg- was willing to give it.   
Not even him, her leader.   
He was going through it with his family and friends, he felt himself slipping away, but he wouldn’t lose himself completely.   
He couldn’t allow her to get away, even if it was for his own selfish reasons.   
That’s why he scanned and searched every possible route she could’ve gone. Searched through the very few things she left. Searched his brain for any place she would go and be safe.  
Safe from them.  
Not coming up with anything, he pulled at his hair. After all this time on a team together, he should’ve known her patterns better.   
He promised Dick to keep her on the team, to let her make friends and work through her problems.   
He should’ve known her patterns better.  
He groaned in frustration, leaving the tower to search for her on foot.  
Motels, hotels, buses, malls, stores, gas stations, abandoned houses, deserted apartment buildings.  
Nothing came up.   
Not even a money trail.   
Either she was hiding in alleys, or she found her own way of transport, and he was wasting time.  
He heard the thunder rumble through the sky, flashes of light highlighting billboard ads for airports.  
Planes, trains, and subways.  
Complete bust.  
Did she already buy that bike she was admiring on her phone the other day?  
Did she tell everyone and make a show of it and he didn’t pay attention?

It was red and small, and he remembered thinking she would look cute on it, rather than the badass bitch vibe she was going for.   
He remembered thinking that he oughta show her his bike, get her opinion, and probably a jealous, but playful slap.   
He remembered thinking of all the ways he was going to have to either hide or protect his bike after showing her, because the unpredictable part of her made it painfully obvious that she would immediately try to steal it and take it on a “harmless” joyride.   
  
He thought that would bring them past the little, “I jumped you in your bed” thing. It had been a while since that incident, and they shared quiet moments together since then.   
The moment where she felt like he needed to be reminded not to beg for Cassie, that he had her. The moments she watched and saved him in battle. The moment when she was going ballistic over her friend being hurt and he had to calm her, and it worked, she stood there and let him comfort her. The moment when betrayal swept across all her broken features, because she believed he would back her up when everyone else turned on her. The moment where her eye shined and she smiled because he finally accepted her into his family, when he finally saw what her father put her through for himself. The moments when she would back up his leadership and give him suggestions when he wasn’t thinking clearly. All the moments he never thought about until she disappeared.  
But even counting all these little moments, he felt like there was a barrier between them still. An invisible wall they built together and couldn’t break.  
  
If he wanted to be her friend- no, he needed to be a part of her nonexistent support system. Even with Eddie at her back, she never opened up to the red devil, never tried anything that would bring out any sort of vulnerability within her.   
She didn’t have anyone else.  
How come he never noticed her being soft towards him?   
Did he honestly think she was like that towards everyone?   
Of course he didn’t think that.  
Was he trying not to notice because she would become another person he had to worry about?  
The death of Conner, his new little terror of a brother, Stephanie’s return, and his growing- and now dead- relationship with Cassie clouded his thoughts more than anything else.   
He knows nobody is perfect, but he didn’t even try to rebuke what the others said about her. Didn’t try to get to the bottom of her behavior.   
He did not act like a leader. 

He was going to be there for her now.

He sat on his bike, gazing at his phone, looking through the camera feed his computer finished hacking into.   
She was heading towards.. God, did she seriously have to go off road?   
Letting out a slight huff of annoyance, Tim turned his bike around- more like he skidded it roughly- and raced off towards her last known sighting.   
The rain hit his helmet, hefty taps making the entire thing vibrate rhythmically. The road was hard to see, and it was getting harder to find the side road she threw her bike onto. Everything was starting to look the same, bush, tree, lamppost, bush, tree, lamppost.   
Where the hell was that dirt path?   
His cold skin felt every ping of every raindrop that dived into his body like tiny cannon balls. Pretty soon, his helmet started to fog up to the point where all he could see was white, so he threw it off- into the safety of his bag- and pressed on.   
The frosty air smacked against his warm face, he felt his cheeks heat from the weird sensations his body was going through, suddenly feeling numb.   
As the world became a blur, he decided to pull over and warm up. If he couldn’t see through the rain, he shouldn’t drive.   
Slowing down, he noticed he was on the side of a mountain. Pulling over to one of the many dirt rest spots on the side of the road. His hands stuck to the handles, him hissing harshly when he finally pried them off. His light skin all red now, was his fingertip bleeding?  
He sighed, stalking over to the edge of the cliff side.   
Tim wiped his eyes, pulling off his domino mask while heavily leaning the upper half of his body over the side of the railing. Lighting was striking frequently and he felt the determination in him start to drift, the rain falling even worse than before.   
Was the girl out there driving still?   
He wouldn’t be surprised if she was, Rose always daring herself to do what others would not touch.  
Even to the point of constantly risking herself to make a point. To save others. Or to stand up to those doing wrong, unflinching to even the toughest of advisories. This in-your-face, stubborn behavior is what brought her and Cassie at constant odds.  
They were too similar, but if you glanced at them you would’ve thought it wasn’t possible for them to even be on the same side.   
Their worlds were too different. Morals all over the place, and while Rose was reclusive with her real thoughts and feelings, Cassie wore her heart on her sleeve.  
You could always tell what she was feeling.   
But maybe that was why he was drawn to her, and weary of Rose.  
He could work with predictability, he loved it, if he was being honest with himself. It brought him comfort and safety. It made it easier for him to interact and come up with solutions to any problem that arrived.   
He could be on a team with Cassie, whereas with Rose, it was a constant, “What will she do now?”  
Except for one thing.  
Just as the thunder always followed after lighting- a metaphor he immediately thought of with his current predicament- he could always trust Rose to be straightforward and honest with her intentions. Her grabbing him and yanking him back into his bed without any clothing on, is an obvious and quick example of this.   
She flirted unabashedly with him many times before this. She told him she wanted him.   
It was that simple.   
But Cassie could actually be hard to trust, not with anything moral or important, just with her thoughts towards love. One moment she loved you, the other she didn’t. One moment she is over the past, the next she’s trapped within it.  
She actually broke up with him during one of these times, it was hard for him. He actually reacted pretty harshly to her decision.   
Thinking back on it, he was pretty embarrassed of the memory. It was immature of him-   
Jeez, why couldn’t he feel his face or hands anymore?!   
Need to overthink yourself into a deeper pit, Drake? 

He shook his head, hoping his thoughts would erase like an etch-a-sketch pad. It sorta worked, making him kinda dizzy from the force he used. He walked around the dirt mound, waving the numbness out from his fingers, he grabbed onto the ice like handlebars he had to pry his hands off of just a few minutes before, whipping a leg over the bike again.   
He hated himself for this, hated thinking about stupid unimportant things at times he really shouldn’t be. He was so.. So distracted. Detached from reality. Burrowing into his head.

“Lose something, Timmy?”   
Smooth, yet amused. Deep and light.   
That was her voice.

“Rose?”   
He slowly turned towards her, the figurative ice in his joints slowing every movement of his.   
It must’ve slowed his mind too, considering he didn’t notice her come up on him. At all.

“How’d you recognize me? The eye patch or the white hair?”   
Her breath danced through the air, the girl leaning against her bike now. 

Actually, it was your voice.  
“Rose. Why did you leave?”

“I should be asking why the bird left his nest? Last I checked, it was Saturday.”   
She glanced down at her half-gloved fingers, not bothered by the cold whatsoever.

“Rose.”   
His tone wasn’t giving her anymore leeway, the single ice-blue eye gazing up into his sapphire orbs. 

“You were going to drop me anyway, why stick around and see everyone cheer?” 

She did hear him.  
“That wasn’t what was going to ha-”

She scoffed, “Whatever I did to set off WonderBitch this time was not going to be worked around.” 

“What makes you so sure, Rose?” He stood straighter, “You can’t kill, Rose.”

“I didn’t kill-”

His voice raised, “You almost did!” a thunder clap, “All I wanted to do was talk to you maybe-”

“They took Eddie! They tortured him! Almost killing them is the least they deserve!” She marched towards him, standing as tall as she could without the added height of her boots, lighting highlighting her darker features, “Real justice would have them all dead. Especially that perv, Clock King!” 

The water stuck his hair to his face like glue, he swiped a hand to move his bangs from his eyes, an untapped anger flowing through him, “We do not kill, Rose!”   
He’d been fighting these thoughts, wrestling with what his older self told him, constantly having to remember the imagery from the future to bring light to any negative thoughts he had. He took a deep breath, repressing what he was about to say before,   
“I understand your anger. I feel you, Rose. There has been so many times- so.. so many- where I just wanted to take the easy way.” He unconsciously grabbed her shoulder, both eyes locked with the single orb, “Where I had to talk myself out of thinking that there would be less loss if that someone was just… Erased.” His voice shook, “How many friends we could’ve saved had we just gotten rid of that one loose factor. My family-” 

She was silent, watching his pupils quiver, didn’t that mean..?   
She grabbed his shoulder, her arm the opposite of his, a foreign look of maturity gracing her.  
“Don’t cry. That lets them win.”

He was crying?  
“Uhm..!”  
He moved back, stumbling over his bike like bambi. 

Of course she didn’t hold back her smirk at this highly uncharacteristic display of his, moving around his bike, she held out a hand to him.  
“Didn’t know you birds knew how to fall.”   
Her voice was much warmer now. If he knew this was how he was supposed to crack her open, he would’ve cried a long time ago. 

He took her hand, and it was as warm as her voice, she pulled him up easily. He hid his gaze from hers, however. Feeling embarrassed once again.  
“Because you’re only around when we fly.”

Her smile faded, the girl taking a step away from him,   
“Are you going to head back to the tower now?”

He missed the warmth she brought already, cursing himself for his poor choice of words,   
“Not until you tell me what you’re doing.” 

“You’re not my brother, you don’t have to know anything about what I’m doing.” 

He watched her evenly from where he stood, trying to think of a way to repair what he broke in just a couple of seconds,   
“I’m-” He took a step closer, but not too close, “I only meant that you should try to stick around longer. Then maybe you would see more- You would have more human interactions with us.” 

It looked like she was weighing her options, shifting from one foot to the other,   
“How about we see some human interaction now?” 

And before he could even say “what”, she locked her lips with his, a very brief sensation of warmth filling his cold body, as she pressed herself against him lightly.   
His first instinct was to stay where it was warm, to feel this weird sense of acceptance for a little longer, to try and fill the void in his heart that so many people carved through.   
Rose’s lips were soft, even if he could feel a cut on them. Her hand ran up his arm, resting on his bicep for a moment before ascending to his shoulder, her thin finger curling itself in the loose strands of hair that fell there.   
He tasted the rain on her, a soft part of him wishing he could drink it. He started to then taste the tang of her blood, from the cut he felt himself touching over and over to feel just how deep it was. Funny how he didn’t notice it until now. He really was depressed, wasn’t he?   
Now his mind came in and beat the instinct out of him, the boy reluctantly pulling away,  
“Why are you so warm out in this weather?”   
It was an honest question, he wanted to confirm if it was from her abilities, or if she was just a warm person on her own.

She didn’t seem to appreciate it,   
“It’s my weird super soldier body.”  
She turned towards the cliff side, instinctively licking the blood off her lip as she moved away. She walked all the way back to the railing, leaning on it just as he did.

He couldn’t get a read on her, was she wanting what she asked him for before? Why wouldn’t she pursue him more if that were the case?   
Had she given up, just like him?  
“Why did you.. kiss me?”   
Even if he was kissed countless times before- by quite a few women- Rose’s kisses never made any sense, not to him anyway. 

“I guess you just looked extra cute for a second there.”   
Her voice was devoid of the fun it usually had, her damp hair now falling over the railing.

“What are you going to do?”

A sigh, “Can’t say. Or I would’ve told you before.”

He walked over to her again, his tone softer,  
“If it’s going to be dangerous-”

She turned to him, a fractured smile on her face,  
“This is exactly what I was avoiding before, Timothy.”  
The way she said his name had him worried, there was a lot of weight behind it, a lot of unsaid emotions.  
“I honestly thought I was going to have no trouble leaving. Thought that no one would care enough to chase after me…”   
She trailed off, a dead look on her face as she gazed out at the woods surrounding them.   
The rain pounded on her jacket, her eye closing,  
“Why are you really out here?”

“I came out here to find you, Rose. Eddie told me you were missing and-” her eye snapped towards him at the mention of the devil, “and I left.” He finished lamely.  
Did she care about Eddie as much as Eddie cared for her?

“I’m surprised that he didn’t look for me himself. Then again, I think he’s upset with me.”  
She sat on the railing, facing him.  
  
Growing nervous over her current placement, he stepped in front of her,  
“Why would he be-?” he paused, why wasn’t Eddie out here? He knew now that she cared for him, even if no one knew in what way, he was about to bring her flowers too.. 

She was irritated, her eye rolling as she spoke,  
“I don’t know. Everyone is always salty towards me for one reason or another. ‘fraid I’ll bore myself to death if I go through it all.” 

Despite being defensive, Tim could see what Dick meant now. Maybe she was actually sad under it all, her prickly thorns tearing into anyone who tried to pick her from her garden, her safe place.   
No one wanted to be the person nobody liked, any human would be hurt if they felt like a constant burden.  
She probably felt as if nobody loved her.  
She acted out, because she was lost.

“Have you ever tried to Kiss Eddie?”

Surprise splashed on her face, the pirate laughing,   
“Interested in who I’ve been locking lips with now? Don’t be jealous, Timmy. You might turn me on.” 

Although he was starting to regret his question, he appreciated seeing her smile again,   
“Definitely not jealous. I’m just as confused by him as you are, is all.”

Her laugh subsiding, she drew in a long breath, letting it out as she spoke,  
“No, I’ve never tried anything with him.”

Now it was his turn to look at her incredulously,   
“How not-?...” 

Her response to his reaction was a breathy laugh, Rose not making any eye contact with him,  
“Don’t want to go making you feel special or anything, birdie. He’s just not my type.”

“But someone who rejects you constantly is your-..”   
Wait. He thought of her father, about how Dick told him she was constantly- just always- looking for his approval. He thought of when the same man told him how he related to her because that’s how he felt with Bruce.  
To put it lightly, she has Daddy issues.

“Didn’t feel like I was completely rejected a second ago.”   
She smiled, but still didn’t meet his gaze.

“I think we’re both going through something.” 

“Was that supposed to sting, Wonder boy?”

“Doesn’t seem like it did, Rosie.” 

“You’re right. It didn’t.”   
She thought for a moment, glancing behind her shoulder,  
“Good reflexes?” 

And once again she did the unexpected, only this time, it was less fun for him.   
Rose threw herself back off the railing, his heart skipped a beat, and he bounded after her.  
“Rose!!!”  
His throat stung from how loud he yelled, his arm hitting a random dead branch as it wrapped around the smaller girl’s figure, and he hissed next to her ear from the pain. 

She wrapped her legs around his torso, her arms squeezing his neck, and she laughed joyfully against him.   
“My Hero!”

They continued to fall, a million thoughts racing through his mind on how he was going to save them.   
Before he could reach for his utility belt, however...   
Rose’s thighs squeezed around him, her arms removing themselves from him. She stuck a thick dagger into the mountain next to them, they were dragged for only a second, their descent forcefully halted.   
Ravager grunted, her arms bent and holding them in place. He felt all her muscles stiffen, her heartbeat thumping rapidly against his forehead. It was a tad awkward for his face to be by her abdomen, her tense abs pushing on his cheeks.  
After a couple of deep, strained breaths, she finally let her body loosen up, the two of them dangling from the side of the mountain.  
Most of her hair stuck to her clothes, some strands flying free, the white silhouetting her red stained cheeks.   
He couldn’t tell if it was from the pain her body must’ve been in from her “heroic” moment, or if she was finally getting cold from being drenched in all this rain.  
She shut her eyes and let the water hit her face, her fingers moving only slightly to get a better grip on the hilt of her dagger.   
He was impressed by her diligence, her ability to hold them both with no baring beneath her. Her body was so slim and small, if her dad didn’t give her the serum they would’ve been goners. 

“But, why?” He sounded exasperated.  
She laughed at him again, and upon the rest of her face turning red from how hard she was laughing, he pulled out his hook shot from his belt, and aimed.   
Quickly wrapping his arm around her upper thigh, he shot it out and swung them up onto a tree. 

She hung over his shoulder now in their new position, moving up to kiss him under his ear,   
“Thank you for the good time, Robin.”  
Her whisper tickled him and he didn’t know what to think.

He focused on his own breathing at this point, feeling like he needed to take a long nap after all this nonsense.   
“What if we slipped and died, Rose? There was no one else here to catch us!” 

“You could never let anyone die, Tim.”   
Again, so simple. 

“That shouldn’t mean that you’re overly reckless. I don’t regenerate like you do.” 

He felt her tense up again, and she pushed away from him.  
“Let me see your arm.”  
She pulled his sleeve up, the blue and purple already becoming the two dominant colors on his arm, a small trickle of blood being washed off by the rain.  
“Shit! I’m so sorry, Tim! Fuck, fuck, fuck!”   
Her fingertips lightly grazed around the bruise,  
“I didn’t mean for you to get hurt, I just-”

He stayed quiet, waiting for her to finish. He didn’t see this side of her often, and he wondered how far it would go if he didn’t chastise her for once.

“I just wanted you to get out of your head for a second. Live in the moment. You always think too much.” When his only response to her was his eyes watching hers, she continued, “I saw you up there, heard your bike earlier, and I followed you. I saw you on the railing, just sitting there, for like, ten minutes.” She grabbed his biceps again, shaking him slightly, “You needed a friend. I thought that even though I-” she looked away, “Wasn’t. That I could still.. Help you.”

Help? She wanted to help him? By kissing him and throwing herself off the side of a cliff?   
Her childhood was surely.. Damaging.   
“Swear Jar.”

“....What?”

“You need to put four dollars in the swear jar.” 

“You Fff-” She bit her tongue, “You’re not mad?”

“Oh, I am. But if we’re going to be friends, we have to have some sort of fun.” His smile was small, “And if you pull a stunt like that again, you had better learn to fly beforehand.”  
He was only taken aback by her self control, usually she would’ve kept swearing to- Well, she did have her moments where she didn’t. Now that he actually thought about it.   
Perhaps that’s why he always just associated her with bad, because he never acknowledged her good, even when she was.

She stuck her tongue out at him, pulling him to her,   
“Let’s just get back up to our fuckin’ bikes.”


	2. Joyride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bird picks a rose and they soar.

They flew up off the tree, Timothy holding Rose close to him. She didn’t speak.. out loud. Her body language and touch spoke volumes, and he had a hard time not noticing.

Her thumb traced circles wherever it landed, her whole figure glued to him like she was a part of his outfit, and her head was tucked in between his neck and shoulder.

Ravager happily focused on  _ his _ movements as well, his tight muscles moving and flexing all over the place since he was swinging the pair around. His heartbeat thrummed on her shoulder, calm, despite the workout. She smelt the rain on him, mixing with his washed up cologne. She inhaled slowly, but deeply, hoping he didn’t notice. All sounds of pitter patter, thunder, and traffic slowly phased out of her senses. 

He would never drop her, he would never hurt her, and he would never change. 

It was safe here. 

Which was dangerous.

For him.   
  


Once they landed, she jerked herself away from him, the freezing air slapping her harder than usual. It was strange how she couldn’t help but stare at him, a goofy smile on her face -one she prayed came across differently to him-, thankfully, the boy turned away immediately and rummaged through his bag. 

He was one of the people she had a positive opinion of, one of the  **_only_ ** ones. But she couldn’t always figure out how he turned up on that list, he pissed her off and shut her out so often, it was a wonder why she kept going back to him. 

Even if he didn’t realize she was coming back to him.    
She would convince herself it was for selfish reasons- as if she didn’t have any lingering pangs of jealousy just by  _ seeing _ Wonder Girl talk to him. 

It made her want to vomit. 

Their entire relationship made her want to vomit.   
All in all, it really shouldn’t have.   
  
So.    
  
Instead of dwelling on these feelings, she strode on over to her bike, picking up the bag that held all of her things in it. Meaning, a couple of pairs of clothes and her ravager costume. 

She never stayed anywhere long enough to have hobbies or a wide collection of... anything, and it showed.   
Not like she had any money either.    
It was difficult keeping items while traveling, it’s not like she wished for more, anyway.   
That’s what she told herself those days she thought about being “normal” again.    
Being normal was overrated.   
She felt the skin under her eye patch start to itch and become irritated, most likely from the wet fabric being pressed to her.    
She took off her soaking wet eye patch, wringing it out the best she could while it was being consistently rained upon. Rose groaned, throwing the wet garment into her bag. The girl glanced at her reflection on her helmet, seeing the puffed up skin even from where she stood.    
She grimaced at it, glancing back at the hawk-eyed bird behind her, he wasn’t looking, instead he was going through his phone like the little addict he was.    
She chuckled, rolling her eye.    
His reasons for loving technology always eluded her.   
Information was important, yes. But social media, texting- scratch that- the only thing she didn’t use herself was social media.    
Guess the only reason she was judging was because she still used ancient tablets, when he had a holographic beast.   
Maybe she would save up for a new one?    
Yeah? Save  _ what _ ?   
Whatever.   
  
Since her eye had a chance to breathe, she pulled out a dry patch from the same bag as before, sticking it to her eye like a bandage.    
I really need to buy more fabric patches.   
  
The birdie tweeted, interrupting her thoughts,   
“Do you want to lead the way home?”    
  
I’m not  **going** home.   
“You’re offering for  _ me _ to lead?”    
She laughed once again, this guy, he’s all over the place today.   
  
His eyebrow raised, his head visibly tilting, only a little,   
“Thought you might know the mountain better.”    
  
She ate up that expression, her head tilting a little in return, only she was smirking,   
“Aw, what a surprise. Robin is giving me the reins.”   
I’m not going home.    
  
Now it was his turn to roll his eye- eyes..    
“Guess I was expecting too much.”    
He sat on his bike, revving it up and driving off, mud splattering everywhere in his wake.    
  
Ravager had the mind -the precognition- to move, hopping on her bike and chasing after him, from a splatter free distance, obviously.    
In her small, dark heart it bothered her to hear him disappointed, it was just like how hearing disappointment from Dick or her father stung.    
But she wanted him to notice her disappearance long after she had already ditched. And that meant annoying the hell out of him.    
She  **did** know these mountains well, well enough to speed up by him and smile, she mouthed.    
“Slowpoke.”   
Then sped off in front of him.   
Why not race the birdie before tricking him?    
He had such a powerful bike, the sounds coming from it making her rust bucket seem like a mewling kitten. It was only fair if he would give her a chance to see his lion roar.   
  
The rain had let up a little, the two teens able to see without their helmets on. The clouds were starting to clear in some areas, the light shining through like rays from heaven, it made it much easier to race.    
Only because they could see the puddles before slipping into the eternal death-pit next to them.   
They were up so high her ears were continuously popping, the giant Christmas tree looking trees -she didn’t pay attention to the specific type-, becoming scarce, and the air was difficult and easy to breathe all at the same time. In addition to all of this, there were waterfalls littering every turn, the snow melting above them.    
The wind blew harder, Ravager pushing herself up to feel it all through her hair and arms, she felt the boy’s eyes on her, not caring in the least.    
The assassin actually decided to push her luck, smirking and standing up all the way, balancing just fine.    
Her smirk widened into a joyous toothy grin, the euphoria at the feeling overwhelming her, all her senses bombarded with the free landscape all around her.   
Free of her problems, free of her father, and free of her feelings.   
Even if she only stayed up and balanced for thirty seconds. It was slower in her mind’s eye. Like one of those cheesy movies Eddie watched.    
She knew better than to cheer, her reputation on the line with the birdie behind her.   
Rose could only imagine how she would’ve reacted before, before she became Ravager.   
That doesn’t matter.   
I am flying!   
  
Rose settled back down onto her bike seat, hearing the damn thing creek, then screech when she had to make a sharp left around the peak.    
Don’t worry ol’ thing, I’ll be replacing you soon.    
She wondered if he was toying with her, the boy watching her as she passed him up over and over.   
Then again, she could just be  _ that  _ good, and the thought swiped an arrogant smile across her face.    
She  **did** know the mountain well, and he was using the race to allow her to show him the way. 

Before she was able to dwell, he flew on past her, his cape actually smacking her on the cheek. She heard his faint laughter over the sound of his engine’s roar, the sight of the bike everything she hoped for. Her heart sped up, natural adrenaline kicking in for the competition.   
Let’s see how Drake fares when I actually start trying.

Ravager used her knowledge purely to her benefit, accelerating up and around the mountain like a madwoman. She revved her bike hard at the tip of one of the smaller hills, the little red thing literally flying over the street and down the hill.    
Seemed like Robin wanted to follow her example, his monster gliding over her baby, his cape spanned out like wings, the boy allowing his body to float up off the bike.    
And that nerd actually hollered, like, really hooted.    
Was she hanging out with Dick or Tim?   
She couldn’t tell anymore.    
But she loved seeing this side of him.   
  
He landed ahead of her, and since they finished descending the mountain, the rain letting up fully, her hair drying in the wind…   
Sigh.    
The girl slowed down, watching him continue to ride off to the tower. She couldn’t watch for long, however, her forcibly turning around and driving back up the hill.

Rose had a mission, a mission to find out what  _ Cock  _ King was up to and stop him.

Her bullheaded determination to make him pay for what he did, to show up Timothy and that damn Cassie, just lit the worst kind of fire in her, a hellfire. 

She  **had** to douse it. 

**Had** to figure out more about herself, what she can do, what she can handle… What she really felt for Eddie and Tim.   
Was she really as selfish as everyone said?   
Was she only wanting Tim because Cassie was able to have him when he rejected her?   
Why did she care so much about Eddie? To the point where she wanted to kill anyone who hurt him.   
It didn’t make sense, and she needed to know for her future.   
Whatever future that may be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What will the future hold? 
> 
> I hope it holds love and adventure, cause our girl deserves it. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed~   
> (Sorry for the shortness! The next one will be longer.)


	3. Dead or Alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim's on edge, but hopefully some routine work will loosen him up.

Woo! That felt great!    
When was the last time he had a joyride like this?    
When was the last time he felt like a teenager?    
However long it had been, this was a welcome distraction compared to his wandering thoughts that flooded his mind before.    
He felt the elation boil in his veins, his heart drumming harder and harder every time he felt his bike leave the street, his hair bouncing now that it was dry, his eyes scanning the road for openings to get ahead of the white-haired--..   
  
“Rose?!”    
Where did she go?    
“Rose!”   
Bum bum bum    
“Ravager!!!”    
Bum bum bum   
Crash.

He was sweating, driving to where he saw the small cloud of smoke drift from the side of the mountain he thought they were rid of. 

When did she lose him?   
Getting closer, he saw that there wasn’t just a single crash, several cars lining the street, civilians running down the hill before there was an explosion.    
He picked up a few of the slower ones, driving back and forth to make sure everyone was out of reach of the inevitable.   
Where is Rose?    
Was she actually in front of me and she thinks I ditched her, crab-apples I really hope that’s the case.   
He would rather deal with an angry Ravager than a dead one. 

He couldn’t  **handle** another death in his life.

  
As soon as he got the last person down the street, the fire caught up to the abandoned cars, a huge bright light blinding Tim and all the people around him. 

He prayed that Rose wasn’t knocked out in that. 

A lot of that hill was gone now, the waterfall next to it now visibly flowing straight down through the man made hole.

Tim decided to do what he did best, investigate.   
He drove up to the debris, getting off his bike and fixing his hair, he then walked his bike to the side, shutting it off and locking it. 

He put it in an, “invisible” mode, using his hook-shot once again to jump over to the other side of the street.   
Robin coughed, not quite holding his breath long enough to avoid the smoke all around him.   
He was really thrown off, forgetting to put his mini gas mask on.

Once he finished hacking out his lung, the boy ran up to the truck he suspected was the first to start this whole debacle, it was a large white semi, the back of it hanging off the edge of the cliff.

No outward markings telling him who they worked for, no people trapped inside, no licence plate either. 

Man, how did they even get this far without being stopped?   
Timothy studied the trailer, figuring there was something illegal inside of it, but not having all the tools for the job.

Funny how Rose was causing problems for him, even now. 

He was in such a rush to find her- No excuses, he knew better than to leave without  _ everything _ .

The teenage genius shook his head, pulling out his communicator-

Oh.   
  
“Robin!?” 

The blonde flew to him, landing, and hugging the stunned bird,   
“You were here? We were all worried about you.”   
  
“Duuuude,” another person with flowy white hair, only much less feminine, “You weren’t in the middle of this, right?”

“Wonder girl, Devil, I’m fine.”    
He gave the most reassuring smile he could considering the circumstances,    
“Where are the others?”   
  
Cassie was the first to speak up, Eddie deciding it would be more fun to look around the crime scene,   
“I told them to take care of the civilians.”   
She brushed off some black smudge from Tim’s cheek,   
“What are you doing all the way out here? You’re hours from the tower, you didn’t even say anything.”   
She crossed her arms, the W on her shirt much more prominent now.   
  
Robin glanced back at the Red Devil behind him, not knowing whether he should get his hopes up or not,   
“I was looking for someone, and this just happened to go off in the area I was searching.”   
  
Cassie watched him, her lips slightly piercing together,   
“Who? Why didn’t you tell us you were heading out?”   
  
He sighed, she was already winding up and he  _ knew  _ Rose’s name would pull the trigger,   
“I’m sorry for not warning you of my.. Departure” Awkward, “But I don’t think I need to tell  _ everyone everything _ all the time.”   
  
Her eyebrows raised, shock sounding through her voice,   
“We just want to be there for you.”   
  
“I know, Cassie.”   
Her name was familiar to his tongue, but that was it, he didn’t know what else to say, a weird silence spreading between them.   
  
Thankfully, it was broken off by the red goofball,    
“Hey!” Panic, “Isn’t this Rose’s new bike?!”    
  
Shit. Erm.. Nuts. 

That wasn’t what he was hoping to hear, not at all.

Did his heart drop?

He ran over to Eddie, fishing out her half-burnt bag and all her little patches from the wreckage.   
  


Cassie flew over after Tim, focusing on all the little things he pulled out.   
“Oh my god it is!”    
  


Eddie’s heat could be felt by the other two, fire coming out of his mouth,   
“ **Who** did this?!  **Where** is she?!”   
  
Although the powerless boy was just as scared as the other two, a part of him feeling like he would topple over any second from the stress of possibly losing another person in his life, he kept his cool,   
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. Eddie, go tell the others we’re going to go look for her. Cassie, I need you to get into this trailer and tell me what these guys were trying to smuggle over here.”   
  
But nothing is ever that easy,   
“I’m not going to just let  _ you _ lead this investigation, Robin! I’m the one who is the closest to her, I should be on the front lines helping you find her!”    
Eddie protested harder than he usually would’ve, almost coming off as uncharacteristic to Tim.   
  
The bird held his ground, this was partially his fault, he would be the one to find her.    
Dead or alive,   
“I need you to listen to me now, Kid Devil. I’m not wasting anymore time arguing with you.”

He turned to Cassie before the literal hothead could speak any further,   
“Could you please bring my bike up here? I’ll be faster that way.”   
  
Cassie nodded and he was left alone with Eddie once more,   
“I know you’re the leader and all, but are you really gonna go all Batman on me?!”   
The horned boy strode back in front of him, eyes glowing slightly, and if the boy wonder learned anything over the years as a hero, it was that glowing is  **bad** .   
  
He clicked a button on his keys, remembering to make the bike visible for Wonder Girl, otherwise he stood still in the face of the pissed teen,    
“I  _ am _ a Robin.”    
He felt the irk crawl up his throat for saying that, but he knew a position of strength was the only place he should be in right now.

His cape covered his shoulders, the eyes of his mask narrowed, he would never break down in the middle of a standoff.   
He did note the smoke puffing from the boy’s nose in front of him, little plans running around in his brain in case a fight broke out.   
The wind blew on them for a while, Tim’s hair and cape dancing around him, he noticed the sun going down behind the boy devil, feeling frustrated at the loss of time.   
  
Eddie, of course, was the first to break, his kind nature overruling any negative emotion he was feeling right now,   
“I’m coming after you right after I finish helping everyone else.”   
  
And with that, him and Cassie switched places, the strong girl placing the bike down in front of the now peeved bird.   
“Everything okay, Tim?” 

  
He felt bad because she was worried, but he honestly didn’t have the patience to gossip right now,

“I’ll keep you updated.”   
He turned around once again, jumping on his bike, and speeding up the… completely filled road.    
As if he couldn’t get more restless, now he had to deal with traffic.

Wonderful.    
  
He maneuvered his way through the hustle and bustle, hoping that the cops would hurry to divert the traffic from coming onto this road, so that he wouldn’t feel like ripping his hair out anymore.   
All he could think of was the sight of all Rose’s tiny patches, her burnt clothes, how little she had.   
Why was it so hard to get to know her?   
What had she gone through that he didn’t know about?   
Why can’t he stop asking questions and just focus?   
  
This shouldn’t be taking so long, whatever happened, she couldn’t have gotten far, dead or alive.

Gunshots.   
Finally! A.. maybe lead!   
The motorcycle vibrated under him, his engine purring as he sped up once again. Even if his current quest was less pleasurable than the race he was in before, he still craved the feeling of the wind running through his hair, enjoyed the familiar sensation of having a mission.

A goal.   
And a fight.   
  


He observed the gunfight from afar, counting the people, and the actual guns. Wondering if either of the groups were on his side, if any were part of the batfamily. Judging the amount of gas he had left, the pain in his arm, the weapons he  **did** happen to have on hand.    
Clearing his mind.    
Taking deep breaths.   
  


Eight men

Two women

Nine guns 

None on his side. From what he could see anyway.

Unknown group. Would have to ask questions.

Low gas. Gonna have to jump into a vehicle.

Loads of pain.

Unknown variables-grenades, poisons, metas, etc- within their groups

And just a few birdarangs with his favorite bo staff. 

Great odds, am I right?

First thing he needed to do was get rid of some of the guns, especially the gunS- yes, multiple- of that crazy burly man at the center of the fireworks.    
He was screaming! Tats, scars, beard, bald, checking all those boxes, huh guy?

One of the girls was jumping between the vehicles, dodging the gunfire like it was a dance routine. 

Someone as agile as her is gonna be a problem.

Thankfully she hid in the trailer with mister man himself.

For now.

The rest of the groupies didn’t make much of an impression on the birdie, the entire vibe with them was, ‘Wahh I have a gun! Fear me! Rahhh!’ 

Working on his first objective, Robin flew to the top of the main truck, landing on the box trailer that held the crazy yelly guy. He threw a single birdarang and a tracker at the wheel of the smaller car chasing them, the car screeching and spinning to a stop. 

Now he had all the main crew with him.

And his friends should pick up the suckers in the tiny car.

Unfortunately, the bearded bear turned his jeering towards him,

“Who DA Fuc?!” 

A slight angle adjustment,

“It’s a bird with no bat! Get Em!”

It was like a swarm of bees climbing out of their honeycombs at those factories- so he watched a few documentaries when he was too tired to think, so what-, A  **bunch-** meaning about five- goons broke the windows, using their obvious super intelligence to grapple up the side.

Okay, so they were kinda trained, crud. 

He tried to pick them off as they climbed up, sticking the faster ones to the side of the trailer, whereas the slower ones climbing out the windows got a hefty smack to their heads.    
It pays to be quick.

Tim grew a little worried with the silence surrounding him, the boy wondering where the heck the girl and ser screams a lot was.

As if God was listening to his thoughts, a hand came out from the roof under him, grabbing his ankle and yanking him down. 

His eyes widened in a slight panic, Robin tugging his foot to the side so he can try to open up some space to use his bo staff on the tatted gunman. 

He felt the fabric around his ankle bone rip, the sharp metal grazing his skin, he bit his lip, the blood dripping down his heel.

But now he had that opening, his staff lighting up and diving into the metal box. He felt the man let go, and he pulled out instantly, running- swiftly limping- to the edge of the trailer.

“Watch out that boy’s stick is a taser!”

What gave you that impression?

Who was he even talking to?   
The girl? 

Tim was pretty sure the other riff raff were taken care of.

Robin took a deep breath, perched at the edge, he knew that this risk wasn’t really higher than the reward, but ducked his head over the edge anyway, looking into the trailer with a bat’s point of view.

A finger in his face annnd,

“He’s right there!” 

There’s the girl! 

She had a silky voice to go with her polished moves, she would get along with a certain ex Robin he knew.

Her hair glowed a sunshine orange, and as if going with the theme of her aura, her spandex were a deep flame red, the bra looking top the same color. Her heels stood out, studs lining the laces, oh diamond studs.

She was the natural kind of pretty, less makeup and more show, he wondered what her deal was with the bald scarface.

Drake watched the two villains, a delayed reaction from muscle face, he tweeted, 

“Did I interrupt something?”    
  
“Actually, you did.”    
The girl whipped her foot through the air, the boy pulling his head up, narrowly escaping the wrath of the studded heel.

Rose was right, he did have good reflexes.


	4. Sparkle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And the fight continues

He flipped and hopped around the top of the car, avoiding bullets, and looking like he was practicing a messy gymnastic routine. Dick would be reprimanding him by now, the younger Robin collapsing every other aerial due to his injury, he even had to roll around like a burrito at some points.

But he was counting bullets, and they were just about gone. 

As was his luck at staying on top of the moving truck.

He took one overstep, one fudged leap of faith, and glided over the top of the car. He quickly spun himself, one hand reaching for the hood of the car, the other pulling out his hook shot once again. 

His hand squeaked on the hood, fingers feeling bullet holes even here..

Why were there holes here when this truck was being assaulted in the back?

Fudge, focus!

His hand held onto the bulldog hood ornament, the rest of his body pressed against the grill and bumper, it burned and he thanked God for the suit he wore. 

The boy wonder sloppily aimed his gun, hoping that he was right, and shooting. The hook caught onto… something. 

He was using a lot of faith, trust, and pixie dust today, and he didn’t like it. 

He felt a pull, and now he  **really** didn’t like this whole “leaving it to chance” thing.

“Never thought fishing would be fun.”

The man’s guffaw was very unappreciated, Tim dropped the literal and figurative hook once he was at the top again, his eyes narrowed. 

“Sorry, I just wanted the worm.” 

The worm being his safety, oddly enough. 

He dusted himself off, glancing at all his blood staining the roof of the trailer, then looking back up towards the timeless sunshine lady.

“Where’s all your friends, little one?” 

She was adjusting her gloves, observing the whole area but him, the car started to slow down too, the boy gulping slightly.

There goes his advantage,

“They’re dealing with something else for me.”

Hold on, she called him, “little one”? She couldn’t have been much older than him. 

What a weird endearment.

“That’s too bad. I didn’t want to clip  _ your _ wings.” 

She ran towards him, her hand flexing out, a few pebble looking bombs soared from her dainty fingers.

He flipped back off the trailer, landing on the hole infested hood of the car again, he saw the flickering lights of the bombs, his vision filling with stars.

“Flashy, huh?”

That was bad and he knew it, he was wondering who she was, she acted like she knew him.

She giggled,

“That is kinda my deal.”

Her foot connected with his gut this time, the boy wheeling off the car into the grass,

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

He heard her coming towards him, the grass crunching underneath her heels,

“It doesn’t have to be hard at all. It sounds like you don’t want to fight me.” 

He laid still til she was close, engulfing her ankle with his hand, he tugged, the girl squeaking as she fell backwards. 

Tim grimaced when hearing her head hit the car, his eyes still flashing from the tiny grenades, he hadn’t intended to hurt her that bad, yet.

Shouldn’t his eyes have cleared up by now? He was feeling sick from the never ending lights.

She groaned hotly, growling soon after,

“Now you’re  **in** for it.”

  
Tim heard- whatever her name was- rip the grass from under them, the boy trying to get some semblance of balance while he stood up. 

He still couldn’t see.

“Do you have a background or anything you would care to share with me?”

Even with his eyes shut he could see the flashing, his ears ringing,

“Since you know so much about me..”

Robin stumbled, getting into a crouched stance.

“Call me Sparkle, Robin number three.” 

She was right by his ear, and when he threw a hand out to hit her, she moved,

“Ah, ah, ah. Not getting another hit on me.” 

He felt the grass land on his shoulders, Sparkle wouldn’t have done that without reason, he started swiping at his shoulders, feeling sparks of pain strike at his skin.

“This the reason they call you Sparkle?”    
  
The glowing creamsicle laughed again, 

“How observant of you.”

She got another sucker punch on him, the hero reaching out and grabbing her arm before she retreated, he tasted copper and he spat it out, hopefully on the floor. 

He then pulled her lean figure to him, holding her arm behind her back, he didn’t have to see in order to do things his body had memorized.

“Don’t usually go for little boys, unfortunately.”

Sparkle kicked back off the floor, her body rolling against his until he felt her studded heel in his chin. Robin grabbed her again, this time it was her calf, and he decided she deserved a little twist, she hissed.

“Girls that make me wanna puke aren’t really my type either.” 

And he. Still. Couldn’t. See. 

But Drake could still hear, and he heard a car.. A car crash. 

Sparkle then shrieked,

“No!  **Teddy** !”

“Sorry pretty lady, did I ruin your starry-eyed date?”

There’s that voice again, Timothy’s heart skipped, grinning immediately,

“Ravager?”

The joy he felt was quickly squashed, Sparkle not having it, she quickly smashed her foot into his chin again, Robin letting go of her now.

“You will  **pay** for this!” **  
** **  
** “I wasn’t done making  _ you _ pay though.”

Rose’s voice was playful again, a sing-songy tone floating in her words, he heard a thunk,   
“That’s for kicking a flightless bird.”

A few more grunts, running, and finally a crack,

“And  **that’s** for running me over.”

Sparkle’s voice was strained, her cry coming out like a whimper, 

“Teddy!--”

Before she could continue to speak, he heard a few more hits, he couldn’t see, but he could imagine what was happening,

“Ravager!  **_Stop_ ** !”

He tried standing again, his body finally giving in, and he puked up his lunch. Tim held onto his gut, the hurling even worse than normal with the added dizziness. He fell to the side, the world around him  **finally** becoming black.


	5. The Walking Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little messy

“Doesn’t seem like he trusts you much, pretty girl.”

Rose was really starting to hate the sound of this guy’s voice, 

“He couldn’t see.”

She ran up his body, flipping a kick into his chin like she saw Sparkle do moments before, she didn’t relent however, running and diving onto him- this man was super tall it was freaky- she wrapped her arms around his neck, hanging on his back, 

“And I don’t have to hold back with him asleep.”

The bearded man reached back to grab her, gurgling chokes the only noise he could make. His hammy hands got a hold of her hair, the man flipping the girl onto the ground in front of him,

“A tiny thing like you shouldn't be so confident. You have no weapons either, Wilson.” 

He laughed hard, coughing when she gasped for breath under his foot, helpless,

“No daddy to save you. No birdie to fly you away. You have to deal with me now.”

He picked her up again, noticing that she wouldn’t die or even pass out, the purple girl frantically pushing on him, 

“What are you, Wolverine?” 

He laughed again, spit hitting her face while she wheezed for air, his fist tightened in her hair,   
“Never thought a female Slade would be so fuckable.”

He kissed her, his lips wet, free hand groping her unarmored chest, then his hand wandered over her bottom, cupping her cheek. 

It felt like forever.

It wouldn’t stop.

His haughty breath spread over her neck, the girl struggling from the teeth sinking into her throat, the man moving back to her lips.

Stop!

Make it  **stop** ! 

She kept kicking, scratching, pulling, the fight useless.    
He whispered against her puffed lips, 

“Female Slade, indeed.” 

Opportunity. 

She bit him, ripping as hard as she could, 

“Fuck you!” 

Her retort was scratchy, blood hitting his eye, he held her outwards, his eyes squeezing shut,

“ **The only sort of pleasure you’ll get from me is a blade up your fuckin’ asshole!”**

She could only see red, the image of her bleeding friend stuck in the back of her mind, her smiling father at the forefront of her anger.

She reached out and grabbed his head, yanking her own against his nose, the crackle fuling her deranged state. His grip loosened on her, the girl releasing herself from his grasp, she kneed him twice in the groin, walking back to the broken car while he moaned in pain.

“Do you want to see why he doesn’t trust me?”

She laughed darkly,   
“Do you want to see why everyone thinks I’m my father?”

Rose ripped a piece of loose metal off the vehicle, the screeching sound echoing,   
“You were right. The birdie won’t be saving  **anyone** .”

She kept her promise, the man’s yells traveling around the mountain,

“There’s your pleasure, sick cunt.” 

Rose kicked the limp body over the edge, feeling sorry for whoever found it. 

She breathed in and out deeply, the red slowly leaving her vision, she stalked over to Tim, lifting his head,    
“Sparkle kicked you good, boy wonder.” 

She wiped the blood from his face,

“I didn’t kill her, promise.”

The girl sighed, hefting him up and over her shoulder,   
“I need to help you. I’d feel bad if you woke up with all those fractures.”

She laid him down under a tree, adjusting his bangs, she used his cape as a makeshift pillow un-clipping it and balling it up. Rose carefully placed it under his head, checking the rest of his body for any other unknown injuries. Finding quite a few bruises and cuts, she frowned, bushing away his hair again,

“I forget how fragile you are. You act so indestructible, it’s hard thinking you’re human.”

Looking around for any unwanted attention, Ravager formed a plan, standing up fully, only slightly looking back at him for reassurance of his safety, and strangely her own. 

The sky was blanketed by the warm colors of the sunset, air clear of any sort of disturbance. Rose’s dark silhouette is easy to spot against the giant yellow star, the slow descent steady and familiar. 

She snuck over to the crashed automobiles, peeking around the corner cautiously, she held another piece of bloodied metal that she used to silence the horny Bastard and the many goons Tim stuck to the sides of the box trailer. 

There had to be some reason Sparkie- or whatever the hell that girl’s name was, screamed a million times for a “Teddy”. 

She doubted that Teddy was the man she brutally murdered, continuing to slink on over to the back of the open trailer, finally at her destination, she peeped in,

“And you must be the infamous Teddy.”   
Rose looked at the red stained scientist, watching his chest for any signs of breathing, 

“Stupid nerds and your stupid lab coats.”

Not exactly knowing if he was alive or not, but feeling secure, she prowled inside the box, looking at all the equipment.   
“Did you steal all this mister-” She glanced at his name tag, “Dr. Theodore Davis?”

She snickered to herself, he looked as uptight as his name,   
“Dunno how  _ you _ got a girl like Sparkie screaming your name, but I’m sure I don’t want to stay around long enough to find out.”

The trailer was messy, papers scattered all over the ground, liquid splattered everywhere, a strong chemical smell engulfing them completely, indentations all over the walls…

Suddenly, she heard piano music from the man’s phone, Ravager pointing her makeshift shiv towards it sharply. Maybe he had a playlist on before they got ambushed? The notes strung through her ears lightly, softly, delicately, so she allowed it.

There were tables knocked over, broken boxes covering the scientist. 

She started to feel sick from the chemicals mixing with the stench of his blood, the B.O. getting stronger. 

Jeez this is like a horror movie!

Rose crept around, paper crumpling under her feet, moving the things out of her way, and grabbing any salvageable drugs she could,

“One of these  _ has  _ to help Robin, and the rest of them can go towards my new motorcycle.” she giggled evilly, a black and orange version of Tim’s bike swimming through her mind,

“Hah!”

She then reached down and picked up a plain white knapsack, looking through the contents,   
“Cigs, a half-filled flask, condoms, bandages, pictures, ...socks?” 

She threw the socks out, glancing at the pictures, she decided to keep them to look at later, unable to actually see the content with the limited light cast on them. Afterward, she spilled all the medicine into it, smiling at the sound of them clinking together,

“Nice. Payday.”

  
Ravager made one more round through the box trailer, she felt more confident, hopping up onto a box and looking into the wall cabinets she couldn’t reach.

“ **Yes!”** **  
** It was a first aid kit, the girl throwing the knapsack over her shoulder and running out,   
“See ya, Ted!”

Sure, a lot of the contents were gone/missing, but it was still something.    
The girl scurried back over to Timothy, her eye watching the knocked out redhead the entire time, it was getting dark and the lady stood out against the grass, glowing,   
“You must be popular at parties…”

Making it to the willow tree, Rose sat next to him, crisscrossed,   
“I better hurry.. I wish you would wake up.”   
She mindfully lifted his leg, pulling it onto her lap, and cleaning his ankle wound. Then continued onto the rest of him, being painstakingly careful of every movement she made. 

Her own personal porcelain birdie, fantastic. 

All she heard was her father’s groaning whenever she had to wrap up his wounds, his hisses, his screams if she wasn’t cautious enough.

“ _ Do you want to know what will happen if you don’t use your brain better, girl _ ?”

“ _ I think that sorry display means you need a demonstration of your own. Shall I break your bones? Or do you wish to do this correctly?”  _

_ “Daddy thinks your medicine is wearing off.”  _

_ “Come here, girl. I wasn’t  _ **_asking_ ** _ you. I was  _ **_telling_ ** _ you.” _

The memories caused her hand to start shaking, the girl taking a breath to steady herself,

“Don’t hurt him by accident, Rose.”

One good thing came with the memory of her and her father’s time together, and that was of a concoction he learned from the League of Assassins, it could heal people, like magic. Her father often used it on non-metas, Rose and him able to heal on their own.

“I’ll find the herbs for you.”

Ravager finished fixing up his bodily wounds, taking a second to actually look at him before moving back up to his face, 

“Damn you’re handsome, Drake.”

It didn’t help that the very last rays of the sun highlighted his cheeks and torso, casting shadows over his chest and abdomen. 

Did he always have cheekbones like that? 

Defined boy. 

Or De-Fine…~

She’s been thinking to herself way too long and she was going delusional.


	6. Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All is quiet... Til it's not.

  
Rose wiped some hot and cold solution around his jawline after cleaning him again, hoping it would help a little with the pained look on his face. She kept the mask on his face in case someone woke up, removing his head from her thighs,   
“Time to lift up my damsel again.”   
She finally humored herself, huffing her pleasure while lifting the dead weight of her teammate. It was easier for her now because she knew where his wounds were, walking over to the black and gold truck she hijacked and crashed into the car attached to the trailer. Rose placed him softly on the backseat, the windows tinted all the way, and the seats not smashed in from her assault,

“You won’t be upset if I lock you in back here, right? I need you to be safe.”   
  
**_Need_ ** ? 

What a weird way of phrasing it, Rose.

Haven’t you  **been** thinking “need”?

The fighter shook her head, crawling over his limp body, and placing the cape-turned-pillow under his head again. There was  **no** room back here, and she almost felt claustrophobic in this space, her only luxury being the boy under her. He might not have smelled as nice as he did before, but he was warm now, and she was tired. 

Her eye fluttered, a yawn escaping her,   
“How many hours have I been playing savior and nurse for you? And we were even  _ more _ busy this morning with construction, then there was the running away, and the almost falling to our deaths.”

She smiled warmly to herself, putting the bag and first aid kit down behind the seats, then looking back into his masked face,

“And that kiss. It was weird kissing you without being under any influence.” She sighed, “I had the courage myself, I could taste the rain instead of alcohol, remember your touch… Man, I’m sleepy.”

Rose felt like a sap, but that was her truth, before the serum.

This was Rose Worth. Not Rose Wilson. 

  
He was lucky to have her, she told herself, but she also felt happy to have someone to take care of like this. This serene quiet that felt meditative to her. 

The goal in her mind, she  **hated** not having a goal, wandering aimlessly made her feel like a walking corpse, so this was another perk to her time with him.

So many boons came with being with him. 

But she only felt them when they were alone, and  _ that _ was frustrating.

So fucking frustrating. 

But…

The world's ceiling was mute of color, stars lining the open mountain sky, the moon full and cheesy. The air was still chilly, and you could hear the leaves rustling through the branches of the trees. Crickets chirped their song, fireflies dancing around the trucks in rhythm with the singers around them.

The girl listened to his sedated heart, slowly relaxing against his chest. White clashed with red, long lashes fluttering again when looking up at the earth's lamp through the sunroof. Her lean self fit to him like a puzzle piece, the  _ safe _ feeling making her eye water, quivering silently.

She felt like a child comforted during a storm, a little vision of her mother holding her close, flashing through her broken mind, heartbeats, lungs expanding, the floating feeling you get while falling asleep. 

She floated. 

Her legs were warm between his, Rose still being careful with his wounds.

Everything was warm. 

…………...

Why did she hear her father telling her to get off him?

Her eye opened.

Weapon out.

Adrenaline spiking.

And..

No one was here. 

Just Timothy. 

Inhale. 

Daddy isn’t here.

Exhale.

Robin’s safe. 

I am safe.

We are safe.

He’s hurt.

Time to ignore all these feelings. 

In spite of the tranquility she had with him-why did it have to be past tense?-, she must find those herbs, and that meant leaving him. 

So.

Ravager hesitantly moved away from him, backing out of the truck, and shutting the door. She took a couple of steps to the driver’s side, opening the door, sweeping out the glass from the windshield and car door, then finally taking out the keys,

“Gonna check on our friends before exploring.” 

She mumbled this to her patient in the back seat, shutting the door and locking it.

Why were they both still knocked out?

It didn’t make sense. 

Maybe Sparkie’s powers had something to do with Tim... and the injuries he sustained, on top of the day they had, yeah, that probably had something to do with it.

The other two were fair game though, and she wasn’t going to have  **anyone** hurt the birdie she  _ just _ patched up.

Rose moved over to the shining beauty queen, tapping her side lightly, and when the shiny pebbles flew out from her hand, Rose ran. 

“Bitch, you’ve been waiting to do that.”   
She laughed, closing her eye so that she didn’t suffer the same fate as her-.. As Tim.

“All Robins will dump you if you aren’t perfect, dearie.” The natural star rose from her spot in the grass, one of her legs bent and busted, “I hope you know that.”

Ravager didn’t understand why the girl was giving her advice, or why she sounded so sweet and solemn while giving it, but she needed to keep the current Robin safe, even if that meant fighting her.

“Not in a relationship with this one, actually.”   
  
The lady’s smile lit up,

“That’s too bad. I find that they are  _ great _ companions.”

She limped back towards her Teddy,

“And it seems like you care for  _ that _ one quite a bit.”

Rose stayed in a defensive position by the black truck, listening to her footsteps, and ignoring her comment,

“You talk as if you’ve known them all.”   
  
“I knew the first two personally, they’re close in age, and I’m only a tad older than Jason.”

She was far away now, so Rose guessed that the glowy woman didn’t want to fight,

“Jason. I hear he came back to life to haunt the family.”   
  
“Oh, he did. I found him where I always find broken men, I only hope my light mended his soul a tad.”   
  
What was with this lady? 

Was she good or evil?   
What was her significance with the Robins?   
Why was she hanging around gangs and villains?

“Are you going to stay over.. There?” 

Ravager’s voice was cautious, her eye still shut, just in case it was a trap.

The model’s voice finally dropped from silky sweet, to a more deathly deadpan,

“Depends on the state of Teddy.”

Rose understood that she needed to leave, not even she knew the state of the Doctor, and she could not risk Robin. 

She felt around the truck behind her, finding a door handle, and getting in,

“We’re going on a mini adventure, Timmy.” 

“Hasn’t this  _ mini _ adventure gone on long enough?”   
  
Now  _ her  _ heart skipped, her hand fumbling with the keys before turning the car on,    
“Jesus, Robin! Don’t scare me like that.”   
  
“And when was I supposed to announce myself?”   
He sounded amused, groaning quietly to himself in the back seat. 

She started reversing, an explosion of light coming out from the trailer,

“When we aren’t running away from glowing ladies!” 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are VERY appreciated! Don't be shy my shippers! I want to explore the ship with you!


End file.
